Visible-draft-bolt chamber.



Q BY W L. F. WOLPES'.

VISIBLE DRAFT BOLT CHAMBER. APPLICATION FILED 1330.2, 1911.

Patented. Jan. 7, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

16 "I 1' q 7 i 17 T n 0 l A W QI 'V- 26- 1 l 1:

LQlllLSZFfi 0Zf'66, INvENToR ATTQRNE? L. F. WOLFES. VISIBLE DRAFT BOLT CHAMBER.

I APPLIOATION FILED 1330.2, 1911. 1,049,434. I ,Pgtented Jan. 7, 1913.

2 SHBETS-SHEBT 2.

8 8 I r" INVENTOR WITNESSES 6 Z 'Louwjrygggo/ I I ATTORNEY hofizontally foii the door.

to the floor at 29 so as to lie as shown in The door is provided with handles 20 by which it may be opened and closed and is also provided with a pin 21 secured thereto by the chain 22, which pin is adapted to enter the end of thecar beneath the elevated door to hold it in its upper position. A hasp 23 is also pivoted to the door by means of a staple 2a and is adapted to engage over a keeper 25 and to be suitably secured by a lock or the like. It-

understood that the door may be will be or it may be arranged to slide horizontally,

hinged if such change in construction be found to be advisable. The door is of a size sufli'cientto admit a workman and opens immediately upon the floor area within which are recessed the heads of the draft bolts, so

that if the car be loaded it is'unnecessary to break the car seal 1 on-the side door or to provide a pathway therefrom to the draft bolts, the workman having access thereto front the end of the car.

an additional safe guard against the necessity of having to shift the freight within the car, I arrange a protective housing above the draft bolts, which housing preferably is collapsible in its character and consists of side walls 26, an inner end wall 27, and an upper wall 28, the side walls hinged prone thereon and also adapted to be erectedso as to occu'py,v'ertical planes intersecting at their meeting edges. The top wall 28 is hinged at 39 to the end wall 2 of the car at the upper edge of the-door opening so asv to swing upwardly against the side of a car and to be secured in such position by the hook 31 engaging with a staple 32. The top wall 28 is provided with marginal grooves 33 formed between spaced cleats 34 and when the cover or top wall is swung downwardly upon the erected side and end walls, the latter are received within the groove 33 and effectually locked together by the cleats 34.

When the car is used for certain kinds of freight, as, for instance, iron, steel rails or bars, or lumber, and the like, it is sometimes advantageous to have the housing collapse,

car being so disposed as to leave clear the space abovethe bolts, in which case access is made to the clear space above the bolts by opening of the door 18. In other cases where the car is loaded with shifting freight, such as grain in bulk, or the like,'or

'with commodities of relatively light weight in boxes and barrels, it is advantageous to this case if any erect the housing within the car so that the car space above the bolt area may be utilizedwith the exception of that immediately contiguousthereto, the grain or boxes being disposed upon and all around the housing. In of the draft bolts become to form a bottom rest or stop Fig. 3, the freight within thebroken, or it is desired to inspect the same, workmen can enter through the door and obtain access thereto without disturbing the contents of the car in any way.

It will be unclerstood that the housing is of a length suflicient to extend from the end wall of the car inwardly far enough to include the king bolt 12, usually not to exceed five feet six inches, and of a height sulficient to permit the withdrawal of the longest bolt'usually about twenty-four inches, and of a width sufficient to include all of the bolts and also to permit the entrance of the workmans body, preferably about eighteen inches. The dimensions of the housing will naturally vary to meet the conditions present in each case.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a slightly modified form similar in all respects to that just described, except that the housing is shown as made of permanent construction.

The same reference numerals refer to corresponding parts shown in the remaining figures of the drawing, 26 being the sides, 27 the inner end, and 28 the top of the housing or shield, the several parts being rigidly cc mected at their meeting edges. H The construction and mounting of the sliding door 18 in Fig. 5 has been previously described with reference to the other figures, and such description need not be repeated, since there is no difference between the door shown in Fig. 5and that represented in said other figures I desire it understood that by the term housing I wish to include a shield or guard of any form or construction to keep the merchandise or freight spaced or away from vthe bolts of the draft rigging and bolster.

What is claimed is 1. A freight car having an opening provided in the end above the draw bar and greater in width than said draw bar, a door for closing said opening, and a housing or shield located within the car above the floor and extending from the end of the car and in communication with said opening, said housing or shield defining a space which is substantially coextensive with the limitsof the bolts of the draft rigging.

2. A freight car having an opening provided in the end above the draw bar of the draft rigging, means for closing said opening, and a housing or shield extending from the end of the car inwardly a suflicient distance above the floor to include all the bolts of the draft rigging and the king bolt, said housing or shield defining a space which is in communication at its outer end with the opening provided in the end of the car.

. 3. In a car having draft bolts connecting the draft rigging with the floor of the car body, thecombination with said car, of a protecting device arranged withinthecar to shield said bolts from car, and means for affording access to said bolts from the end of the car.

4i The combination with a car having draft bolts connecting the draft rigging with the floor of the car body, of a door provided in the end of the car above the draw bar of the draft rigging, and means to protect or shield said bolts from the freight in the car so that access may be afforded thereto through the door at the end of the car.

5. The combination in a car havin draft bolts connecting the draw bars and sills with the floor of the car body, of a housing therein arranged above the draft bolts, and means to afford direct access to said housing from the car exterior. V

6. The combination in a car having draft bolts connecting the draw bars and'sills with the floor of the car body, of a housing therein arranged above the draft bolts and extending from the end of a car longitudinally, and a door in the end of the car affording direct access to said housing from the car exterior. I

7. The combination in a car having draft bolts connecting the draw bars and sills with the floor of the car body, of a housing within the car arranged above the floor and at the sides of the draft bolt area to inclose the same, and extending from the end of the car longitudinally, and an end door afford ing direct access to the interior of said housing from the car exterior.

8. The combination in a car having draft bolts connecting the draw bars and sills with the floor of the car body, of a collapsible the freight in thehousing arranged within the car and extending when erected from the end of the car longitudinally to inclose the draft bolt area and when collapsed arranged to leave clear the draft bolt area, and an end door afiording direct access to the interior of the car adjacent the housing.

9. Thecombination in a car having draft I bolts connecting the draw bars and sills with the floor of the car body, of a collapsible housing arranged within the car and comprising sides and rear end walls hingedly connected to the car floor to swing from a prone position on the floor to a vertical po- I sition with their ends abutting, and a cover hinged to the car end and having marginal grooves to engage the erected sides and ends, and a door affording direct access to said housing from the car exterior.

10. The combination in a car having draft bolts connecting the draw bar and sills with the floor of the car body,

of a collapsible LOUIS F. WOLFES. Witnesses JoBN'H. SIGGERB, EDITH L. BROWN.

GopIeI of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0.

housing arranged within the car and comwalls hingedly the space p 

